p s y g l i t c h t e c h a c i d p r o g e l e c t r o d u b m i n i m a l + b r e a k s t r a n c e h o u s e d n b t e c h n o c r u n k c h i l l +
Quextal (/ˈkwɛkstəl/) is a DJ & producer of epic progressive and psychedelic music, based in Southampton UK.
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The fact that this is only the second time I ‘ve gone to the trouble of recommending someone else’s mix on this site, should tell you I don’t do so lightly. Frankly it takes a very special mix to motivate me to the effort of writing a post about it!
But there’s no question that this is just such a mix, and who better to deliver it than someone who repeatedly delivers the goods in both his DJ sets and his outstanding productions: Hedflux. From the first few seconds of the opening track, his own Introversion — which, by the way, he has now kindly offered up as a free download — to the blistering finale, we are taken on a beautifully evolving journey whose variety of sounds and landscapes offers a far greater range of stimulants for body and mind than you (or I) might have thought possible from such an apparently narrow focus on one subgenre.
In the past I’ve tended to find the majority of tech-funk rather dull – it often fails to add sufficient interest, rhythmic melody or groove to its instrumentation to make up for its simplistic beat structure (relative to breaks), earning it the nickname “plodstep” among its detractors. But Hedflux has often produced exceptions to this rule, and this is a mix of the exceptions (his and others’); while I might not personally like every single tune on here, there’s no plodding here, no dull moments, which is really saying something when there’s hardly a broken beat in sight for the whole 80 minutes. This is truly the state of the art.
I was away for my usual Saturday slot, so stepped in to cover for 601’s show on Sunday instead. A particularly squelchy selection of psybreaks and off-the-hook sickbeats if I say so myself, and showcasing some of the new artists that are giving away awesome tunes for free on Soundcloud at the moment, alongside the best of the current promos and releases…
Bend your legs when lifting this mix – it’s heavy!
Yes, my new show has a name! Thanks to everyone who sent in their suggestions, there were some great ones, couldn’t decide between them so went for something completely different 😉
This week’s show featured some proper tripped out nuskool and epic progressive breaks of the style that got me hooked on it in the first place about 9 or 10 years ago (though these tunes are more recent!), some pslinkin psexy psybreaks, and for the final half hour, something that I hope to be exploring more in future, some twisting mind-expanding leftfield neurofunk-esque drum’n’bass. Oh yes indeed. Word.
The new Watchlist, where I big up the artists and labels who I consider to be at the forefront of the music I love, has been updated. Congratulations to Amb for earning his place (it’s been long-deserved, but I’ve only recently encountered the full extent of his achievements), and to our four new contenders in the Up & Comers section, well worth keeping an eye on.
I’ve been buying really silly amounts of music lately, mainly as a result of mostly eschewing the new releases in favour of digging around for more by artists and labels that I’ve dug before. If you have hours and hours and hours to spare I highly recommend it 🙂
Anyway, it would appear that most of what’s landed in my download folder this week can be filed under tags such as chunky, funky, rolling, pulsing, throbbing and wobbling, which can only mean one thing: It’s time for a QuexTech Special! So on next week’s BrapFM show on Mon 5th Oct from 20:00 UK time I’ll lock the breakbeat away in a lead-lined box and devote the full 2 hours to the 4/4s. Techno, tech-house, tech-trance. All, of course, guided by my core passion for the progressive, the psychedelic, the synaesthetic.
It’s been far too long since I uploaded a studio mix. Partly this is down to increasing numbers of gigs and radio shows which occupy a large part of my time plying the decks these days. But it’s not as if I haven’t been making studio mixes from time to time, I was just never quite happy enough with them to upload.
Well, time for that to change. If there’s one message I’m receiving loud and clear every time I play out, it’s that there are people out there who are desperate to hear the kind of stuff that I play. Whatever that is! And even if I think a mix is flawed (usually because I think the tune selection could have been better rather than any technical error these days), you’d rather have that, than silence.
So here you are. This mix covers a fairly wide selection from across the spectrum of progressive, psychedelic, tech and electro flavoured breakbeats that float my boat. It’s plainly more of a home or car listening CD than the sort of journey I would construct at a club or festival, but it should take you to some interesting places. Enjoy 🙂
Normally my mixes are all beatmatched to perfection (!) so tend to either hang around the same BPM or gradually accelerate from say 128 to 145. But with this month’s show I wanted to push back the boundaries, playing a more twisted style of electro-psy-breaks including some much slower and faster than the normal range.
I’d been on a massive acquisition binge with freshly burned CDs containing 60 new tunes, with only space for about 25 in a 2-hour show, so the selection is nice and varied… but the transitions and the overall shape of the journey could perhaps have done with more planning. I definitely need to figure out some more tricks to blend between wildly different BPMs.
Anyway, it didn’t seem to matter at the time, the promise of sick and twisted beats drew in a record-equalling number of listeners and an all-time record number of chatters compared to any of my previous Brap show’s, and you all loved it didn’t you, you dirty dirty people 😉
Big love to Espion, Jamie Robosapiens and Greg VIM for the promos. Any other producers/labels want to put me on your lists in return for honest feedback, and airplay – if I like ’em! (unless you’d prefer not in which case just say!), the address to use is quextal.removethisbit@quextal.com 8) Got radio shows and gigs coming up next week so get on it 😉
Next radio show (to be confirmed) B2B with Ali Rutt, NSB, Mon 13th Apr, 7-9pm BST
Next gig: That Night @ Ad Hoc, High St, Southampton UK Sat 18th Apr
